When I Look At You
by setfiretothethirdbarxxx
Summary: Helping your best friend find the love of their life in a diner was only part of the full picture. Finding her own happiness was the last of it. *New version of RUTH* Edward/Alice, Jasper/Bella


**Yes, the story is under Edward/Alice as opposed to Jasper/Bella like RUTH was, but there will be equal amounts of both. The story will go between Alice and Bella's POVs so you will get a really good insight into both characters and well as their relationships.**

Chapter One: _Alice_

"Day twenty," muttered my companion, looking around the small and shabby diner. I rolled my eyes before allowing my eyes another sweep of the place. He was definitely not here, nor where there any actual signs that'd he would show anytime soon. Things would so much more smoothly if my one and only cohort would be somewhat agreeable. It was _her _soul mate we were waiting for, after all. A fact she was well aware of.

"Relax, Bella," I said, turning my stool around, making a complete spin. I knew this man, wherever he may now, would eventually show up here. I'd seen it. What I saw was never set in stone, but the fact that I'd continually had the vision of him meeting us in the exact same diner we were currently sitting had me quite certain that if we waited long enough he'd eventually show. "He will be here."

"You've said that for almost a month," said Bella, tucking a lock of her long, brown hair behind her ear. She frowned at me, leaning forward and resting her chin on her folded arms. I shot Bella another glare. Normally, she was a relatively fun person to be around. The endless days of sitting in the tiny café, not exactly knowing who it was we were looking for had put a damper on her spirits. I glanced at the clock,

"Tell you what," I said, leaning closer so that the annoyingly curious waitress couldn't hear me, "if he doesn't show in ten minutes we'll call it a night. Just trust me, this waiting will be worth it."

"All right," said Bella, considering my last comment. "Ten minutes."

Her topaz eyes had darkened. I bit my lip and turned around to glance out the window into the rainy scene outside. I didn't know how much longer I could convince Bella that this truly was going to be worth it. Whenever I reminded her of this, she'd merely nod and smile, pretending that she really believed me when I knew that it was taking a lot out of her to keep believing me. If he didn't show within the week, I knew Bella would request that we just give up and move on. I sighed in annoyance, spinning around in my stool again.

I stared at the untouched cup of coffee that had sat in front of me since about three o'clock that afternoon. Every once in a while, I'd pretend to take a sip, a vein attempt to keep the waitress at bay. The second she looked away; I'd spit the foul tasting stuff back into the cup. How humans could actually drink that was beyond me. I sighed, staring at the black, stinking liquid. Then it hit me.

I felt my eyes go out of focus before the image flashed before them like I was staring at a photograph. The image was of the front door of the diner, I could tell this was today, even with the old, ripped calendar missing from the scene. The image changed, the door of the café was now open and there he was. The tall, blond, heavily scarred man I'd seen at least a dozen times before. The image changed again, the clock was the focus now. My eyes snapped shut. The images were gone when I re-opened my eyes. My eyes shot immediately to the clock. I grinned and jabbed Bella in the ribs with my elbow.

"Get ready, Bella," I said, turning my stool around for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "He'll be here in 3…2…"

The door opened before I could say one. Bella glanced over her shoulder and her mouth fell open in shock. Unable to describe him in words, I'd sketched him to show Bella who we were waiting for two weeks ago. She glanced at me in awe when the realization of just who had just crossed the threshold was. Before she could say anything, I hopped off my stool and walked right up to him. He stared down at me in shock, not expecting to run into any other vampires let alone for one to actually approach him.

"You've kept us waiting for a long time," I said, placing my hands on my hips and looking up at him like a disapproving mother. I heard Bella slid off her own stool and slowly walk over to join us. She glanced up at him for a quick second before letting her eyes drop, had it been possible, I knew that her face would be scarlet.

"I'm sorry ma'am," he said, ducking his head after a moment of complete silence, in which he'd merely taken the both of us in. I beamed up at him and gave Bella another sharp elbow to the ribs. I stared pointedly at her hand and gave a not so discreet nod towards him. Bella bit her lip in embarrassment and held out one of her hands.

He stared at her hand less than one second before engulfing her tiny hand in his rather large one.

"Well then," I said, clapping my hands together, glancing at Bella. "Our mission here is complete." I sauntered over to the counter, placed a twenty down next to my untouched cup of coffee and smiled sweetly at the waitress. She stared at me in surprise, probably shocked that we had spent almost every day for a month sitting in the café for an actual reason. I quickly rejoined Bella and the new arrival whose name we still didn't know. "No point in hanging around here any longer, is there?"

I led the way out of the café, glancing over my shoulder once to make sure Bella and the new comer were behind me. The hotel Bella and I were staying at wasn't far from the corner café. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jacket, though there was really no need to do so. The first, second if one was counting finding Bella, thing I had hope to accomplish was done. I closed my eyes and the image of a breathtakingly handsome, bronze-haired man flashed before them. I smiled and opened my eyes.

One day. One day very soon…

It took about ten minutes for us to reach the hotel. The man behind the desk looked up like he always did when anyone walked passed. He never said anything; he'd just allow his eyes to follow until you were out of his sight. I pulled the room key out of my pocket and shoved it into the keyhole of our room. I walked inside and tossed my coat aside before flopping down onto the bed. Bella closed the door behind her and removed her own coat.

"First things first," I said, watching as the blond carefully lowered himself down onto the chair in the corner of the room. Bella sat down next to me, pretending to have a great interest in the bed spread. I rolled my eyes and held out my hand "I'm Alice."

He stared at my hand for a second before reaching out and shaking it.

"Jasper," he said, his voice was deep and smooth. "Jasper Whitlock."

Smiling, I pulled my hand back as both of us turned to Bella, who cleared her throat and stuck out her hand.

"Isabella Swan," she said as she and Jasper shook hands. "I go by Bella, though."

Jasper nodded. "Noted," he said. He glanced at me again and I already knew what he was going to ask before he did. "How exactly did you know I'd turn up here? I wasn't even sure myself."

"I have visions," I said, crossing my legs. "I see things based on what people decide. Someone changes their mind and their future changes accordingly."

"How were you able to see me?" Jasper asked, frowning. "You've never met me before."

"I see people I'm more familiar with easier, " I admitted. "However, when someone happens to make a decision what will intertwine their futures, I can see bits and pieces of the other person's."

Jasper frowned. I sighed; the boy was either still in shock or he really was just that dense. I nodded towards Bella and raised my eyebrows. He followed my gaze; realization flickered in his eyes when they fell upon Bella. I let out a sigh of relief; he wasn't completely hopeless. Jasper cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair.

"So, have you two always…" he trailed off, clearly trying to figure out how to word his next question.

"Have we always been together?" I asked, smiling. He nodded. "No, we haven't"

"Alice found me dying in the street," Bella said, speaking for the first time without being forced. "I'd been in a car accident, only survivor. If she hadn't taken a great risk and changed me, I'd have died for sure."

"It _was_ rather risky, wasn't it?" I mused, my head tilting to the side as I thought back to that cold, rainy night about five years ago. "I'd only been a vampire no more than three years myself. If it hadn't been for the vision I'd seen of Bella being like me, I probably wouldn't have been able to do it."

"How were you changed?" Jasper asked, reluctantly removing his eyes from Bella, who looked down at this question. He glanced quickly at her before looking at me in confusion.

"I don't remember," I admitted quietly. I frowned, as if I thought hard enough, looked back far enough I'd somehow remember who I had been and how I had become who I was. I sighed in frustration, no matter how hard or often I tried, I just couldn't conjure those memories. "I don't remember why I was changed, how's pretty obvious. I don't remember who changed me and I can't remember anything about being human. I just remember waking up, alone, and having my first vision."

"Bella?" Jasper asked. I shook my head and Bella looked at me in surprise. I'd told her she had been the first thing I'd seen, when in fact she'd been the second. Bella cocked in her head in curiosity.

"If I wasn't the first thing you saw, Alice, what was?" she asked, turning to face me completely.

"Another vampire, a male," I said, conjuring back the copper-haired man's face in my head. "Edward." It was the first time I'd ever said his name out loud. I liked the way his name sounded on my lips. "He's a little shorter than you, Jasper, with an almost unnatural bronze color to his hair…"

Bella was staring at me, a knowing smile on her face. I cleared my throat and looked down.

"Would Edward be someone you were planning on finding next?" Bella asked, leaning forward and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah," I said, turning my head to look at her. "I wasn't entirely sure that we'd encounter Jasper first, but I was about ninety-five percent sure." I shrugged. "I don't exactly get dates most of the time, obviously." I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them. "He's part of a coven. It's him, Carlisle and Esme, and Rosalie and Emmett."

Bella smiled as a wave of calm swept through the room. We both turned to Jasper automatically; he was the only new factor in the room. He smiled sheepishly at us.

"Sorry," he said, running a hand through his curly, blond hair. "I'm an empath. I can feel and manipulate emotions."

"Speaking of which," I said, turning to Jasper. "We've shared our life stories, so what's yours?"

Jasper shifted uncomfortably. Bella and I exchanged a look. I had figured he hadn't had the best experiences; he _was_ covered in scars, after all. Any imperfections one had as a human is repaired during the change. Broken bones, scars, most deformities, things like that. He had not had those scars as a human. The only thing that could mark our skin was our venom. Judging from the amount of scars that covered his body, he had a lot of unpleasant run-ins with a lot of our kind. Bella leaned forward, placing her hand on his leg.

"You don't have to tell us now," she said in a soothing voice. She smiled. "After all, we only have the rest of eternity." Jasper smiled and took Bella's hand in his. Bella turned to me. "When did you plan to start looking for Edward and his coven?"

"I was originally planning on it right after we found Jasper," I said. I hesitated. "If you two want to spend more time together, get to know each other better, I can set off by myself—"

"Alice," said Bella, shaking her head. "I've been with you for five years. You've helped me find Jasper," she turned and smiled at him. It hadn't taken either of them very long to accept what I'd seen long ago. "You're my best friend and I want to do whatever I can to help you find Edward."

I smiled at Bella, who had let go of Jasper's hand and pulled me into a hug. I looked at Jasper over her shoulder; he was smiling. It was obvious that he would follow Bella anywhere now that he'd found her. I pulled back from Bella and reached for my sketchpad.

First, I sketched Edward and the members of his coven. Edward was by far the easiest to draw. His unruly hair, thoughtful eyes, his perfectly straight nose, and his amazing jaw line just seemed to flow from my pencil onto the paper. Bella and Jasper were leaning over my shoulder as I continued to sketch.

Carlisle was next. Though my drawing couldn't show it, he had pale blond hair, a few shades lighter than Jasper's. He had a kind face that had obviously seen many years, probably more than my, Bella's, and Jasper's vampire years put together. It was obvious that he was the leader just by looking at him. His mate Esme had caramel colored hair and had a gentle, motherly look to her round face. Besides Edward, I enjoyed drawing her the most.

Rosalie appeared below Esme. She was hard to capture. She was by far the most stunning woman I'd ever seen. She had blond hair that was a shade somewhere between Carlisle and Jasper's. She had a pompous look about her, a complete contrast to her mate, Emmett. Emmett had curly, dark hair and an almost boyish face. He was the largest man I'd ever seen, in my visions or with my actual eyes. He looked rather intimidating, but based on the few visions involving him I'd had; he was really just a teddy bear.

The last thing I sketched was the house where they were currently living. It was in the middle of the woods, way out of the way of humans. I set the sketches next to his other and looked down at each of them, then up at Jasper and Bella. The faces of my family.


End file.
